Wednesday, December 29

ProRumors: Ozzie Guillen's son, Oney, is up to it again on Twitter. Oney is calling out right-handed reliever Bobby Jenks after he spoke bad about his father in an MLB.com article by Scott Merkin.

Jenks was disappointed about his departure from the White Sox, but was happy to be moving to the Boston Red Sox. “I'm looking forward to playing for a manager who knows how to run a bullpen,” Jenks said.

Oney responded on Twitter by saying:

“oh and yes i remember clearly u blowing a hugee game in 09 and u laughing ur bearded a** off while everyone busting there tail” (Source: Twitter)

“i thought u were a man not some punk who runs away and talks bullsh**. u coward. say it to there face when u were with them” (Source: Twitter)“and u say the manager didnt trust u? he kept putting ur fat a** there and u kept blowing it, he never took u away from that role unreal” (Source: Twitter)

Oney is known for calling White Sox personnel out on his Twitter account. In August, he called out White Sox GM Ken Wiliams for going to a comedy club rather than watch his team play a doubleheader.

Oney? What kind of name is Oney?...And why is this little dopey kid calling out a grown ass man? In the words of Pedro..."Ozzie Guillen's son?....who are you!?!"

What's lost in this story is how awesome of a backhanded slap Jenks put on Ozzie? Talk about putting a manager in his place. No one can argue that Ozzie is bat shit crazy, and as a result makes some short bus decisions close and late.

Normally, I could care less about Ozzie's son and Bobby's little twitter spat, but now that Jenks wears the right uniform, it's on. It's like how you're allowed to make fun of your own brother, but god forbid if someone else does....Game on.

Monday, December 27

Not going to lie, I love blizzards. I haven't turned off Pete Bouchard and Dylan Dreyer for hours and hours on channel 7. I know a lot of us make fun of meteorologists like this nutbag in the video above, but I’m totally there with him. I love “the world is ending” stuff, eat it up.

While Boston is getting completely chucked with snow and wind, the 10 day outlook in Ft Myers calls for 78 and sunny this week.

Weather like this makes you question why we live in Boston, but the Red Sox help remind you why it’s so great…..now if we could only get Ft Myer’s weather up here year round…

Friday, December 24

Checking in on ol' Barstoolsports and this is what I find.....it's too good/odd/Ozzie not to repost. I give Ozzie credit, he's weird, he knows it, and he tries like hell to parlay that into positive excitement for the Whitesox and their fans.

I still don't know if the Whitesox actually won a world series in 2006 or not, but great work with Manny Ramirez this year....and thank again for Bobby Jenks.

Merry Christmas Red Sox Nation, with all of the recent moves by Theo, this goes down as one of the best Christmas seasons ever.

Thursday, December 23

Pulled from ESPN.com: “I made a comment to Theo, ‘Make the trade happen by itself, and I promise you during the season I’ll negotiate,”’ Gonzalez said. “I’m not going to come here and be like, ‘OK, we’ll see you at free agency and see if you outbid the other teams.’ We’ll negotiate during the season. We’re going to be fair. We won’t be looking for record-breaking deals. We just want market value.“We gave them our word that we were going to negotiate during the season in good faith. We’re not going to go in there and ask for Albert Pujols’ contract, something along those lines.”

“That was one of their comments, what if he gets this humongous deal and you want to be closer to him?” Gonzalez said. “I said, ‘Trust me. What the market is today might change by then, but we’re going to negotiate based on what the market is today.”’

Can it get any better? First the full page ad in the SD newspaper, and now this story? Gonzales and the Sox agreed early on that an extension would not get in the way of finalizing the overall trade. Instead, they acted like men, spit in the palm of their hands and shook on it. If AGon proves the surgery to be a non issue early in the season (which is expected) and absolutely rakes at Fenway (which is also expected), he's going to land himself some serious money.

He doesn't need Albert Pujols to set the bar for him, he can do that all on his own merit, but it's nice to hear that AGon is not an irrational, egotistic maniac. I'm telling you, this team is made up of winners. I feel as though 80 percent of my recent posts have been about the class of the talent we've brought to Boston this offseason.....meanwhile the Yankees are trying to resign that DB Johnny Damon. Good work Cashman.Pujols’ presence was clearly felt at the table. The Red Sox couldn’t shake the notion that if Pujols signed a mega-deal, the shared parameters of what market value was could change overnight.

Wednesday, December 22

NESN: Like any good multimillionaire does, Carl Crawford picked up the tab.

But the new Red Sox outfielder wasn't treating his family or friends to a night on the town to celebrate his seven-year, $142 million contract. Instead, Crawford arranged to buy lunch for the entire Tampa Bay Rays staff on Wednesday afternoon. at Tropicana Field, according to Marc Topkin of tampabay.com.

Roughly 150 employees were treated to the barbecue meal by the nine-year member of the Rays, who fled to Boston this offseason.

Take notes Randy Moss, Manny Ramirez and all you other DB's out there. This is how real men operate. Carl Crawford literally can do no wrong in my book right now (that said, wait until he pops out with runners on first and third on April 4th).

How classic/southern/Floridian is the BBQ aspect? In retrospect, instead of taking out a full page ad thanking his teams/fans, maybe AGon should have rented out a Mexican restaurant in San Diego and treated the entire staff to some serious empanadas.

It's snowing again in the Back Bay, spring training can't get here soon enough.

Monday, December 20

I don't often concede to requests like these that often come into ITM's inbox, but when it comes to Ortiz, warm weather, a good cause, and Dustin Pedroia talking smack on the golf course, I'll post it.....

If you weren’t able to attend the David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic this year, you can still catch all the highlights in a special Red Sox Report airing on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. EST on NESN. Produced by Emmy award-winning Red Sox Productions, the show chronicles all the weekend’s activities, including the welcome reception, pairings party, golf tournament and awards gala. There are exclusive interviews from a host of celebrity guests including Red Sox teammates, current and former Major League baseball stars, actors, comedians, and sports legends. The show is hosted by David Ortiz with help from the event emcees, MLB Network commentator and former Red Sox first baseman Sean Casey and actor/comedian Mike O’Malley. (ITM note: this guy has made a good gig outta being random MCs at Red Sox events huh?, nothing the rest of us couldn't do)At the 2010 Celebrity Golf Classic, David Ortiz was joined by a host of celebrity guests including

The show begins with one-of-a-kind footage of David Ortiz visiting Robert Reid Hospital in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The David Ortiz Children’s Fund is launching a program at the hospital to ensure nurses receive the education and equipment they need. During the visit, David met with nurses who will benefit from the program, including one nurse who cared for David when he was a child. The nurses program was inspired by David’s aunt Esperanza who is a retired nurse from Robert Reid Hospital.

The Red Sox Report, presented by CVS/Pharmacy, will be rebroadcast at the following dates and times: December 21 at 9:30 p.m.; December 22 at 12:30 and 5:30 p.m.; January 4 at 5:30, 7:00 and 9:30 p.m. and January 5 at 4:30 and 10:30 p.m.

"I know Red Sox fans have seen him a lot over the years but when you watch him day-in-and day out you're going to see things that will amaze you. For me as a pitcher, I'm telling you, it's great to see him out there in left field. He's a highlight film on just about every play." - Dan Wheeler

You know, I always knew I liked you Dan Wheeler. The man is from Rhode Island, and clearly he knows exactly what to say to get in good with an obsessive fan base. I'm not going to lie, after reading that quote I wanted to buy a Dan Wheeler jersey almost as much as a Crawford one.

No Debbie Downer here, D Wheel is in the here to rep RI and keep the positive clubhouse emotion alive.....and maybe eat some middle innings as well.

Keep up the good work D Wheel, you're just another piece in what is quickly becoming the perfect storm of an off season. I'm all sorts of excited.

Saturday, December 18

“There were rumors out there, but we never made an official offer, and no parameters were discussed,” Moreno told the Times, adding later that when Angels GM Tony Reagins met with Crawford’s agent on the first day of the winter meetings, he was told that the outfielder already had an agreement in place, and that the Angels “never had a chance” to bid.

The Angels owner emphasized that the deal that Crawford signed with the Red Sox came with significant risk.

“It’s crazy. I paid [$183 million] for the team [in 2003], and now we’re talking $142 million for one player? Seven years on a player is a huge risk financially,” Moreno said in the story. “[Crawford's] greatest asset is speed, and he’s a very skilled athlete who would have fit perfectly in left field for us. But we didn’t look at him as a power hitter in our stadium.”

Oh cry me a river Arte. First you're complaining that you never had a chance to offer Crawford a contract and then you critize how much the Sox paid for him? Eat it Arte, you and your team got worked by Theo and everyone knows it.

He should be a lot more concerned with the fact that his Angels ball club is looking at another mediocre year if they don't make some serious moves. Maybe they should take on the Patriots mortar and just worry about themselves. Put the Halos in the AL East and they would win 75 games.

PS: blog posted while hungover on the T at 8:30am. I should get extra points.

Thursday, December 16

From WEEI.com (aka, the station that is getting their ass handed to them by Felger, Mazz and the rest of the Hub)....

Traveling back from vacation with his family, along with the family of Dodgers' outfielder Andre Ethier, Pedroia was having a difficult time getting his entire group through customs, making it difficult to make its flight on time.

"They wanted me, who just got cleared to jog, to sprint to the gate, which is on the other side of the airport, to hold the plane up," Pedroia said. "So I'm sprinting, testing out my foot with my shoelaces untied, holding my 30-pound son -- by the way, my foot felt phenomenal -- sprinting through the airport, and I get to the gate, and I'm like, 'Ma'am, did the flight leave?' She said, 'I'm going to give you three minutes.' I'm like, 'There's no way.' Andre's kid is a little bigger than [Pedroia's son] Dylan and he's running everywhere. Two seconds later, the pilot comes off the plane and goes, 'We've got a situation.' I thought, 'Jeez, now we're definitely staying here.'

"She pulls off this couple. Some woman was beating the [expletive] out of her husband on the plane. They pull those two off. This guy has a bloody face. He must have smarted off or something. The flight was delayed 30 minutes, and we got to get on the flight. I almost high-fived everybody. It was awesome."

"It was out of control. We ended up getting on. I was more pumped my foot felt good from sprinting with a 30-pound kid on me. We got on the flight. I was pumped. It was a good day."If this happened to anyone but Pedey I'd call BS....but this is the type of thing that could only happen to me, Pedey, and probably T Murph.

Also, Pedey should have used his celebrity status to have the plane stopped. The TSA just put the Red Sox season in peril....He should have told them to go ask Jeff Francis who he was.

Reason number 9,987 to be excited for Spring Training: priceless Pedroia quotes.

Wednesday, December 15

As if you needed another reason to be excited for Spring Training and the future of the Red Sox....let's not forget about Iggy. One of the best parts of landing AGon was that we didn't have to give up Iggy...aka, Boston's future shortstop (projected starter in 2012).

I'm not even sure what happened around the 13 second mark, all I know is I'm amazed. The glove work alone has me excited to see what this kid can do at the big league level. This video is actually from November after he poured all over the Arizona Fall League (earning a spot as one of the top performers in the league).﻿

Also, Dice-K...listen up, the man already speaks better English than you do, and word on the street is that's he's doing more and more interviews in English, hoping to fully transition. He's also studying US history.

Tuesday, December 14

"I think it opens that possibility," said Stark. "No doubt about it. The sense I get is that they are very content with how their team and outfield shapes up right now. But they've got four everyday outfielders and an everyday DH, so any time you are sitting in that spot it's a great place to be. They're in the driver's seat now, they can totally call their own shots here and control where their off-season goes from here. Anything they do now, they do from strength. That's not the case with the Yankees."

We have four everyday outfielders? Really? As far as I know JD can never be relied on for health, Mike Cameron is still very much a question mark, and Jacoby hasn't played baseball in a year......and Ryan Kalish (somewhat forgotten) is scheduled to start the year in Triple A.

I applaud the Phillies for keeping Lee out of the AL, especially the AL East, but let's not make a stupid deal to thank them (the thought is that Philly now has an abundance of pitching talent they may be willing to deal).

In addition, as a result of injuries etc, Jacoby likely returns less value now than ever. Now doesn't seem like the logical time to move him.....plus, we're all drooling at the thought of double steals and not a single ball dropping in the left-center gap in 11'.....

Monday, December 13

"My wife Betsy and I have been fortunate to call the San Diego area home - both during childhood and the past five seasons with the Padres. While my baseball career continues on the "other" coast, family, friends, and Padres fans will remain close to our hearts. It was a dream come true to play for the hometown team for five wonderful years. It was a privilege to put on a uniform bearing "San Diego," and to live and work amidst so many wonderful people. This is truly an amazing city.

Betsy and I will miss seeing so many of you on a regular basis. You always raised our spirits and have a profoundly positive impact on our lives. For this and so much more, we are grateful.

For now, I will refrain from saying goodbye; the Adrian & Betsy Gonzalez Foundation will continue to honor its commitment to helping area youth and we have every intention of doing our part to better this already great community."

Many thanks and God bless....and F the Yankees.

So I took the liberty of adding in the "F the Yankees" part, so what? You and I both know he was thinking it.

"According to multiple major league sources, Mariano Rivera’s representatives were the ones to initiate contact with the Red Sox in an attempt to get the team interested in the closer. While the Red Sox would ultimately make a two-year offer to Rivera, according to sources the team’s expectation was that he would be returning to the Yankees. The 41-year-old ultimately re-signed with New York, securing a two-year, $30 million deal."

Perhaps Rivera could see the tide changing. Contrary to the popular belief that the Sox reached out to Mo, it turns out it was NY's savior who got the Sox involved. I'm sure after witnessing Theo's dominance at the winter meetings, Rivera wishes the Sox had landed him.

I can't say I blame him though, you know the Yanks would never let this happen, so why not try to pump up your salary and term?

The Yankees will be paying Mo 15 million dollars when he's 43.....I mean, the guy is a machine, and the greatest closer of all time, but I just can't seem to rationalize that in my head.

Sunday, December 12

While Theo and the Sox dominated the winter meetings, the Patriots were busy turning back the clock to 2007 and ruining NFL team's hopes and dreams, the Celtics established themselves as the best team in the NBA while winning 10 straight, and the B's are looking at a playoff spot.

Not to mention, everywhere else in the country is getting douched on with snow while Boston hasn't had any yet this season.

I fully expect to wake up tomorrow to news that the Revolution picked up Lionel Messi.

As a typical Bostonian, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things are going too well and I'm a bit worried. I didn't go to church this week, haven't donated to charity and yelled at an old lady who was taking too long when crossing boylston street this afternoon.

Plain and simple, I haven't done anything to deserve this, so I'm knocking on wood like crazy.

In what's turning into a theme in the 2000's, Boston is once again dominating the sporting universe, and we all need to do our part to keep it that way.

Friday, December 10

Gordo Edes had this as a late night post, and I must say, I'm impressed (granted, at this point, Carl Crawford could spit in a baby's face and I'd be impressed). The real CC is doing some crazy workouts, stuff I've never seen before.

Either way, this video tells me Carl Crawford means business, I can see him and Pedey battling it out in the weight room while Big Papi just saunters through at a slow pace eating chips and his salsa.

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